“Melting Pot” Cikini

The cafe occupies the old colonial house shop (Ruko) building at the old residential Menteng area in Jakarta. It is located at Jalan Cikini Raya No.25. Its strategic location near the old post office “Kantor Pos” and the performing art center “Taman Ismail Marzuki” has made Bakoel koffie an iconic place to hangout, meet, work or simply surf the internet while sipping a cup of freshly roasted Java.

It has became a melting pot where people with all kind of background and social income class gather around to simply enjoy their cup of Java; from artist to painter, writer to diplomat, politician to business people, teachers to professionals, student to journalists, all mingle together, sharing ideas, socializing, or simply working. The place has become a 21th symbol of cafe society in Jakarta, similar to one described by the coffee historian Ukers of the role of cafe in the 17th century…A Melting Pot

“The coffeehouse gradually became the common resort of all classes. In the morning came the merchants lawyers, physicians, brokers, white collar workers, and wandering vendors; In the afternoons, and until the late hours of the nights, the leisure classes, including the ladies…joyous throng passed to and fro, clad in colourful garments. Men and women chatting in groups here and there, and always above the buzz there were to be heard such choices bits of scandal as made worthwhile a visit to the coffee house” – coffee historian Ukers, 17th century

A well known economist, the late Sjahrir, used to enjoy his cup of Java while doing his work at his favourite corner at Bakoel Cikini as described by his wife, Ibu Kartini Sjahrir on Kompas, 3 Sept 2008.

The cafe also has a toko kopi where it sells freshly roasted coffee beans where the roasted beans would be stored in the stainless steel container where they will be scooped, weighed and packed using aluminium foil as per customer request. The beans are sold in bulk, the traditional way of selling beans in the original toko kopi “Tek Sun Ho”. The beans are roasted every 5 days to keep its freshness in the bins, so that customers can enjoy freshly roasted beans at home.